Unbelievably low price, incredibly high s/h

Think: total price! before you bid... a few tips to buyers:

Some eBay sellers are outselling lower priced goods by offering a low low price but has a high high price for shipping and handling.

Which would you rather pay for the same identical item:

1) $3.99 Buy It Now with $1.99 s/h

2) $2.99 Buy It Now with $4.99 s/h

3) $1.99 Buy It Now with $7.99 s/h

4) $0.99 Buy It Now with $10.99 s/h

5) $0.01 Buy It Now with $15.99 s/h

Believe it or not... most buyers skip over item #1 and many will claim they are too busy to read the details.

Some will pay for the item and when it arrives they'll give negative feedback stating something like, "Beware!!! He paid 99 cents postage but charged me $15.99 Rip off Beware!!!" and the sellers might state something like, "Ask questions before bidding... s/h was clearly stated and you paid it!"

Many who scan through negative feedback might think the seller is right without going into details. When you bid on an item you are agreeing to everything in the written terms of service so you should ask questions before bidding if you aren't sure of anything.

When you see an item like #5 above please take a minute to use the 'Report this item' link at the bottom of the selling page and follow through to make sure an e-mail is sent to an eBay employee so the item will be investigated... if it is determined the seller is trying to avoid eBay fees the item wil be pulled by eBay.

Why would a seller want to list with a lower bid and higher s/h?

1) Most bidders will bid on the lower priced bid item and many will not check the s/h fees.

2) eBay charges are based on the closing price soooo buyers would like to see more go into s/h and pay for lower final prices.

Investigate a potential buyer's feedback

Toolhaus.org is the quickest online source for finding all of the negative and neutral feedback an eBayer has either given or received in just a minute or two if several thousand transactions are involved.

What is the item worth?

Do your homework of checking around to see what an item is worth before bidding... if the item above has been found to be selling for $7 then why would you want to bid more than the $5.98 offered in item #1?

Would you want to pay more for an item than what it is worth?

Naturally most of us wouldn't but... what if the buyer lives a great distance from a major retailer and needs the items before they plan on visiting a distant major retailer? Paying a few extra dollars to a seller with a great reputation seems like the best way to get what you want and it would be a bargain... compared to what it would cost to make a special trip to a distant retailer and they might be out of stock by the time you get there.

Is there a stock photo being displayed for a used item?

Sure the picture is of what a new item looks like but is what is up for sale in mint condition? Or is it used and is shabby, torn and dirty? If you are in doubt by vague descriptions be sure to ask the seller a question.

What is most important to look for when buying on eBay?

For most of us buying a product that is shipped through the US mail the most crtitcal area is that of packaging... does the seller have great feedback for how well items are packed? Many sellers have spotless records and when you think of it safety is no accident... hard work usually pays off with a spotless record.

If you are buying a very high priced item does your seller have a proven record of selling the same high priced items? Or has the seller accumulated a high feedback number from buying postage stamps for less than a dollar? If you do not take the time to investigate the seller you are putting all of your eggs into the same basket the big bad wolf might be carrying. Let the buyer beware.

When buying a small item the photograph should be close up and very detailed... if the seller has not given a measurement of size or placed a coin in the photo or a ruler or something of a well known size then you should ask the seller a question of how large the product is before bidding. Sometimes the various measurements can get to be confusing... please try Wikipedia on the Internet for details.

Fake coins are out there... US Trade Dollars out of Southeast Asia are a classic example but you might run into others. If you have a paperback coin book that lists all US coins minted and don't find the coin being listed on eBay in the book then it probably is a fake and is worthless. Ask the seller before bidding... being a doubting Thomas and being cautious is better than being trusting and out the money.

Why would a reader rate this guide as not worth reading?

A dishonest seller wouldn't want you to read what is written here... there might be a sucker born every minute but the sucker doesn't have to stay that way... so wise up! The higher negative rating this guide receives just means the dishonest sellers don't want the guide to be read and they think a terrible rating will discourage others from reading it.

Why should a reader rate this guide as worth reading?

The higher the number of votes received for being worthwile reading the higher likelyhood people will at least browse through to see what is so good about it and hopefully they'll pick up on a point or two to save them money and make a better purchasing decision... what goes around comes around.

Happy hunting on eBay

DependableDennis